Indoor market traders in Colne are now happier with plans to move them into other buildings in the town during market hall regeneration work, Pendle councillors have said.

Plans to shift traders to various nearby buildings during the market hall redevelopment were discussed by Pendle Council’s leading executive meeting.

Councillors also heard about the latest changes to joint venture arrangements between the council and other businesses in the scheme, because a local housing association is no longer involved.

The executive also gave permission to Pendle’s director of place to transfer government Levelling-Up cash to the Pearl 2 joint venture, which includes developer Barnfield Investment Properties, and to oversee staff and sub-contractors on the market scheme. Final formalities will be agreed with the government too.

Developer Barnfield is involved with a number of land and property schemes with Pendle Council including the huge business and residential Brierfield Mill project, now named Northlight, near the M65 and Leeds-Liverpool Canal.

Traders concerns followed by new design

Last year in Colne, many market hall traders voiced anger and concerns about the initial plans. Their worries includes an alleged lack of information and consideration for traders’ needs. There were also fears that the market revamp would lead to a loss of traditional local stalls and an influx of more expensive retailers from elsewhere.

The original redesign plans have been changed in recent times.

Changes include:

  • Introduction of a glass partition which can be opened to connect with the rest of the market.
  • Relocation of a first floor café to the ground floor
  • Moving the toilets to create more shop fronts to the high street.
  • Including a loading bay at the front
  • Removal of car park works from the current scheme

Together Housing has said remodelled first floor flats do not fit with its activities so it is no longer involved in the market project.

The next phases of the market redevelopment work could start this autumn with trader relocations. If all the rebuilding goes to plan, the new market would be open by early 2025, a report states.

Councillors welcome latest steps

Speaking at the executive, Lib-Dem Coun David Whipp, deputy leader of Pendle Council, said: “We think we have now got accommodation for all the market traders. Some have gone into the arcade, some can go into properties linked to joint venture partners and some have found locations themselves.

“The old Poundland shop site is another option. We need a fire risk assessment done there but hopefully that won’t be insurmountable. There is space for 14 traders there. If there were any more delays with Poundland, then traders might need to think if we can sustain them at the hall through the period to Christmas? That will be decided soon when we get the latest information regarding Poundland.”

Originally, it was proposed to have Together Housing involved through the Pearl Together joint venture arrangement. However, Together Housing has since withdrawn. It believes the market hall scheme does not fit with its housing plans. So the Pearl 2 joint venture will now deal with the market hall project.

Coun Whipp said the plan had now got the blessing of the Pearl 2 board. It would now need access to the Levelling-Up funding for the market work.

He added: “I’m pleased this scheme has got a lot of momentum now. The market traders are in a much-more positive frame of mind. When we took over earlier this year, the disgruntlement was sky-high.

"But I think the traders can see a lot of work is being done to address the concerns that were there and we are progressing things at a reasonable speed, to make sure there is not a big hole in the centre of Colne for a long time.”

Labour Coun Asjad Mahmood, the leader of Pendle Council, said: “A lot of work has gone on behind the scenes, with a working group and working a cross-party [political] way. This will regenerate Colne town centre and make a big difference to how things develop. There are a lot of other projects happening too.”

Labour’s Mohammad Hanif added: “The good thing is that everybody is working together – people and organisations – for good results.”

Lib-Dem Coun Dorothy Lord said: “We have gone from a lot of anger and disappointment to a situation where people are feeling quite excited about things now. I’m not going to harp-on about the past. But what happened was horrendous for the traders. We lost a lot of traders but hopefully some will come back. I’ve heard that one trader who moved into another location is considering coming back to the hall.

“I want to thank the Pendle Council team involved with traders including Sarah Lee. She has made sure everybody is clearly informed. If there has been any rumbling about anything, she has spoken to traders quickly. That’s all they ever really wanted. It’s now good to see things going smoothly. Let’s hope that continues.”